Port Everglades project could get $4M in federal funds

Port Everglades, a Fort Lauderdale-based foreign-trade zone for warehousing and distribution activity in the U.S., could gain millions in federal funding for its planned expansion if Congress approves a bill today.

The House of Representatives is expected to approve an amended water-projects bill that would reimburse Broward County $4 million to launch the project next year. The expansion would deepen the port’s waterways from 42 feet to 50 feet by 2017, about two years after the new widened Panama Canal opens.

Job growth is projected to soar as a result of the new Intermodal Container Transfer Facility — the nation’s only combined on-port international and domestic cargo rail facility — which is under construction. There will be 1,491 permanent local jobs and 5,862 short-term construction jobs created, the proposal said.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott also requested that the Legislature approve $14.7 million for a wider turning area for cargo boats at the port. [Sun-Sentinel] — Mark Maurer